Just as Sherlock had Moriarty, so does Superman have his Alexei "Lex" Luthor, the template for all super-nemeses to follow, and arguably one of the best-known literary creations of the 20th Century in his own right. Initially a standard evil-genius-with-a-death-ray type, developed by Siegel and Shuster for one of the anti-war potboilers for which the series was first known, he quickly gained a popularity and style all his own, and flourished into one of the all-time great comic baddies. The first appearance of the character is among the rarest of Golden Age keys.



Overstreet Guide 2018 VG (4.0) value = $8,000.